


I Heard A Rumor

by PepperF



Series: Diego whump [24]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Kidfic, Whumptober 2020, i.e. the characters are kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PepperF/pseuds/PepperF
Summary: Living in a house with seven superpowered children is always eventful. 'Eventful' is how Pogo phrases it, even in his own mind, consciously quashing some of the more...forcefulthoughts that occasionally entered. It's not really their fault, after all. He suspects that living in a house with seven children of any kind would be challenging, but the powers add an element of danger that keeps everyone on their toes—and sometimes, keeping on one's toes is simply not enough.
Series: Diego whump [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951318
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	I Heard A Rumor

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Bethany for beta-reading this one tooooo! ;)

Living in a house with seven superpowered children is always eventful. 'Eventful' is how Pogo phrases it, even in his own mind, consciously quashing some of the more... _forceful_ thoughts that occasionally entered. It's not really their fault, after all. He suspects that living in a house with seven children of any kind would be challenging, but the powers add an element of danger that keeps everyone on their toes—and sometimes, keeping on one's toes is simply not enough. He trusts Sir Reginald, trusts that he knows what he is doing and that his intentions are ultimately for the good of the world—but that doesn't mean Pogo follows unquestioningly. He regrets the nannies particularly, the ones whose necks could not simply be set right again when they were flung brutally against a wall. And sometimes he regrets that the children are being trained to fight—especially when they use it against one another.

At seven years of age, they are starting to take shape a little more clearly—the opening bars to the symphony they will become as adults, he thinks, rather fancifully. And quite a noisy symphony it is, too. They are also starting to push against their boundaries, as they begin to realize that there's a whole other world out there, other lives, children whose entire existence doesn't revolve around training and studying and missions and discipline—and often that frustration is misdirected. Allison and Diego are the most hotheaded, the most inclined to speak without considering the consequences. In some ways, Pogo feels more sorry for Allison. The worst that the boy can achieve with his words are some hurt feelings, but for Allison the results can be rather more dire.

Little Vanya is the one to come and find him (he still thinks of her as the youngest and the most fragile, despite everything), tugging him by the hand until he follows. When he enters the library, he finds Allison distraught and sobbing, and Diego hiding in a tight little ball under a writing desk. The others are standing around awkwardly, looking scared and upset. "What in heaven's name...?"

Allison looks up through streaming tears. "I—I di-didn't mean t-to do i-it!" she sobs.

Alarmed, Pogo goes to check on Diego, and is relieved to see that the boy appears to be breathing, albeit in a broken, shaky way that suggests that he too is crying. "What happened?" he asks. The girl just shakes her head, hiding her face in her hands. Pogo looks around for help.

"They were arguing, and she—she Rumoured him so he can't talk," says Luther, in his confessing-to-Dad voice.

Pogo sucks in a breath, turning sharply to look at Allison. It's a particularly cruel trick, given how the boy already struggles with his speech. "Now, _why_ would you do such a thing?"

The girl only sobs harder.

Pogo sighs. This is not going to be resolved by getting more emotional. "Master Ben, will you please ask Grace to come to the library? The rest of you may leave. That includes you, Miss Allison."

"No! No, I want to stay!" wails Allison, apparently desperate to make things right as soon as possible, despite whatever anyone else may want.

"It's better if you go," Pogo tells her, firmly. "You may tell him you're sorry later, once the effects have worn off. When Diego is able to respond."

She looks stricken for a moment, and then her jaw sets stubbornly. "No!"

"Come on, Allison," says Luther, to Pogo's relief. The boy takes her hand, and she subsides. "We'll go play outside."

Sniffling and sulky, Allison finally obeys.

It takes Grace twenty minutes to persuade Diego to come out from under the desk and cuddle in her lap, and almost half an hour before he mutters something into Grace's shoulder. She nods at Pogo, who breathes a sigh of relief, and settles himself more comfortably on one of the sofas, watching as Grace strokes the boy's hair and murmurs soothingly to him.

He is old for a chimpanzee, or even for a human, and some days he feels every minute of it. Unlike Grace, he cannot be there for the children forever, and—despite how much hard work they are—he wishes he could be. Theirs will not be an easy road, he fears, and he doesn't know if Sir Reginald is making that easier or harder. They don't make it easier on themselves, either, or on one another, although he suspects that there is much that they would forgive one another, even when their childish tricks are not so harmless.

He hopes that the lessons they are learning will shape and hone the potential he sees in them, and not warp or stunt its growth. But only time will tell.


End file.
